This Week, That Year: Dadamoni, the man with a delightful chuckle

I met him for the first time as a wide-eyed 22-year-old trainee journalist. And even as I was stuttering over the “Sir”, he cut in to say gently, “Call me Dadamoni.” With that one word he steadied my skittish nerves and I made a friend for life. Since our birthdays were a day apart, Ashok Kumar who’d have turned 107 on October 13, would always insist that he was younger than me which, going by the twinkle in his eyes and his Puckish humour, he was.

Following the wrap up of Housefull 4’s shoot in Rajasthan, Akshay Kumar whisked off wife Twinkle Khanna and daughter Nitara for a vacation in Italy. Veteran actress and Akshay’s mother-in-law Dimple Kapadia accompanied them and was seen enjoying the trip in the most free-spirited manner

Rati Agnihotri, the giggly PYT of Basu Chatterjee’s Shaukeen whom the three old men — Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt and AK Hangal — compete with each other to impress, agrees with me, saying his chuckle was the most delightful sound she’d heard. “And the hilarious anecdotes Kishoreda (Kishore Kumar) and Dadamoni would narrate had us clutching our sides with uncontrollable laughter. He was tailor-made for that role, except he wasn’t lecherous, he was one of the nicest persons I’ve met,” asserts the actress.

Another co-star, Kamini Kaushal, flashbacks to one of her earlier films, Poonam, which had Dadamoni as the much older hero, mesmerised by her singing. She narrates how she’d met him for the first time when he’d come to her college, Kinnaird in Lahore, to attend a cultural programme organised for the war relief fund as the chief guest. “I was a final year honours student in English literature, spirited, fun-loving and uninhibited. After my solo dance performance, I was standing in the row right behind him, and to catch his attention, I stealthily pulled his hair from behind,” the nonagenarian actress shares.

Dadamoni, Rati Agnihotri in a still from Shaukeen; poster of Poonam (below)

Kamini ji adds that when they started working together in Poonam, she asked him if he remembered her from that incident, and he nodded with a laugh, “Of course I do, you naughty girl.” That set the tone of their relationship. “I was a kid and he was years older, but we were buddies,” she smiles fondly at the memory.

Throwback pictures: From Pooja Bhatt to Shabana Azmi, Bollywood celebs take a trip down memory lane

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Ranveer Singh gets the Friday feeling

Always full of life and energy, soon-to-be-wed star Ranveer Singh seemed to be just as enthusiastic as a child, if his latest Instagram post is anything to go by. The Padmaavat actor took to his social media handle to share a picture of him as a child, wearing a frock. He captioned the image, “Hands in the air, like ya jus’ don’ care!!!?????? #fridayfeeling.” Ranveer and Deepika Padukone are all set to tie the knot on November 14-15. The couple will go for a brief honeymoon after which Ranveer will kick off promotions for Rohit Shetty’s Simmba, co-starring Sara Ali Khan. (Pic: Instagram)

​Anushka Sharma recalls her ‘bachpan’

Anushka Sharma welcomed the day with a memory from her school days. The NH10 actress shared a candid picture from her teenage days, in which she can be sitting with her bunch of friends. All the lovely girls in the frame seemed to be having a gala time posing for the picture. The camera person captured them at their candid best. Anushka called this picture "bachpan" in the caption, as a remembrance of the good old days and thanked a friend for refreshing her memory. It was indeed a pleasant #flashbackFriday for Anushka. Image: Twitter/@AnushkaSharma

Neena Gupta shares throwback picture with Soni Razdan

Actress Neena Gupta is currently enjoying all the appreciation for her performance in Junglee Pictures’ Badhaai Ho. Amid all this, the actress didn’t forget to wish her old friend Soni Razdan on her birthday (October 25). Neena Gupta shared a throwback picture of her with Alia Bhatt’s mother Soni Razdan and captioned it, “35 saal se meri dost ab dost hi nahin jeevan ka ek hissa ban gaee hai ...... Happy Birthday my dearest Soni.” Neena's message, when translated to English means 'my friend of 35 years is not my friend anymore, but a part of my life'.

While Karisma looked pretty in white, Kareena looked cute as a button in her pink frock. Now, isn’t Taimur a spitting image of Kareena?

Photo: Instagram/@therealkarismakapoor

Abhishek Bachchan shares his pa Amitabh Bachchan’s picture

While Amitabh Bachchan recently shared an adorable throwback picture of his kids Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan, AB Jr now brings the ‘Angry Young Man’ back. Abhishek captioned the picture, which is a poster of one of Sr Bachchan’s action films, 'Boss'. Abhishek posted another adorable picture in which he is holding his nani’s hand and captioned it, “Morning walks with the grandmother! Hand-in-hand since 1976. #SuperNani.”

Photo: Instagram/@bachchan

A proud father

This Throwback Thursday, Amitabh Bachchan shared a nostalgic moment with his fans by posting an image of his son Abhishek and daughter Shweta enjoying their scoops of ice-cream. With an emotional caption, Amitabh explains how proud he is of his two children, who have found success in their respective paths.

Arjun Kapoor, the new Poh of town?

It is no secret that Arjun Kapoor and food are a match made in heaven. As the actor shared an aww-worthy moment on Instagram, he also challenged Kung Fu Panda's Poh, adding that Poh has "got nothing on this Panda!" Kapoor, who calls himself the cutest Momo-looking child slash Panda, further revealed that if no one else did, he would squish his cheeks himself.

​Dharmendra recalls working with Vinod Khanna, shares picture of them dancing together

True to his wit and charm, veteran actor Dharmendra recalled sharing a fun costume dance performance with the late Vinod Khanna. The Sholay star, who stars in the recently-released Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se, is all decked up in traditional royal outfit. Khanna is also decked up in a matching outfit.

Both the actors seem to be enjoying the moment to the fullest as they mockingly pose for the camera on the set. ‘Don’t tough guys dance?’ is written on the image shared by Dharmendra from his official Twitter handle.

He captioned the old picture with the funny comment, “Our steps are so original and unique, even we couldn’t repeat it!!!”

Both the actors have shared screen space in several films such as The Burning Train, Kshatriya and Patthar Aur Payal. Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, 2017.

Shabana Azmi gets nostalgic, shares picture of Bollywood legends

The black and white image also captures legends like Dilip Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Yash Johar and Pran. The photo was clicked during the music launch of 1984 film Duniya, which starred screen Dilip Kumar, Amrita Singh and Rishi Kapoor.

Azmi, who is missing from the frame, captioned the image, “So many greats in one frame!”

Remember the kid from Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Masoom? Jugal Hansraj won millions of hearts with his top notch performance in the film, which was also Shekhar Kapur’s directorial debut. While Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi are actors par excellence, it was kids in the film – Jugal Hansraj and Urmila Matondkar who made the audiences laugh and cry with them.

Some days back, Shekhar Kapur shared the picture of Naseeruddin Shah and Jugal on his social media handle, which was originally shared by National Film Archive Of India’s official handle. Shekhar captioned the image, “One of my favourite stills from my first film Masoom .. the strong bond between Naseer and Jugal Hansraj is so obvious .. #Repost @nfaiofficial with @get_repost #myfirstfilm #masoom #film #myfirstfeature #feature.”

Photo: Instagram/@ nfaiofficial

Throwback Thursday: Siddharth Kak, Renuka Shahane from their Surabhi days

We found a perfect way to bring the nostalgic ‘90s back with this major throwback picture. As we were browsing through the digital platform, we stumbled upon Renuka Shahane’s picture with Siddharth Kak from her Surabhi days.

With Renuka’s infectious smile and Siddharth’s presentation skill, Surabhi became an iconic show on Doordashan. It was hosted by the duo from 1990 to 2001, with a year gap in 1991.

Photo: Twitter/@IndiaHistorypic

It's a throwback for Farah Khan

After her ‘Mother of all throwbacks’ with Karan Johar, choreographer-turned-filmmaker Farah Khan shared a ‘kick back’ picture for her Insta family. The filmmaker takes us back in time to the days of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and looks adorable. Calling it a ‘Kickback’ picture, Farah wrote, “This is not a throwback its a kickback!!18 yrs ago at the Filmfare promotions of Kaho na pyar hain.. thank you @khalidmohamed9487 for sending me this.. #premommybody #kickoftheday.”

She choreographed the songs of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai which saw Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel make their acting debuts.

Apart from being a successful filmmaker, Farah is a hands-on mother of trilets – Czar, Anya and Diva.

Photo: Instagram/@farahkhankunder

Preity Zinta's Koi Mil Gaya throwback

Preity Zinta took to Instagram today to share a picture from 15 years ago! The picture features the team of Koi Mil Gaya, including Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan and Sussanne Khan. The film showed Roshan portraying the role of Rohit, a specially-abled boy, who befriends an alien. The film gave India among its first superheroes.

The witty and outspoken Farah Khan Kunder never misses a chance to pull her close friend Karan Johar's leg and it was no different this time. The choreographer-turned-filmmaker shared an old picture of her with KJo and Tabu.

Farah wrote, “Some flashback this is!! @tabutiful clearly not liking @karanjohar in this avatar 😂n i was trying to make velvet rock in the 90’s.”

A rather embarassed KJo also commented, “Oh god! Look at me!! I am looking like.” Cheering up her friend, Farah wrote back, “@karanjohar what a transformation”

Today marks 27 years since Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin hit the theatres. The film, which starred Pooja Bhatt alongside Aamir Khan, was a blockbuster hit and went on to create beautiful memories for cine fans. Pooja took to Instagram to share her memories from the film. She revealed that in the days before monitors, it fell on the continuity photographer to help the director and actors maintain continuity. And as for the cult hit Galyan Sakli Sonyachi.. Hi Pori Konachi, it was fellow actor Deepak Tijori who helped her groove in a traditional nauvari sari - which she was wearing for the first time - at a fishing village in Madh Island from 7 am to 6 pm every day. "My buddy Deepak Tijori (who) made the shoot truly easy for me by taking me through the paces with such patience and generosity," she wrote on Instagram.

The other hit song from the film was O mere Sapno Ke Saudagar and Anuradha Paudwal, who was signed to sing it, actually talked to Pooja for a long time so she could understand Pooja's mannerisms and incorporate them in the song. "I had a distinct lisp then,traces of which still remain and Anuradhaji called me to her home before she recorded it and made me speak to her at length so she could incorporate my supposed speech setback into the song. Love her for that as she made me feel that it was actually a special attribute and contributed to what and who I was," Pooja recalled fondly. Photos: Instagram/@poojab1972

Shabana Azmi on her FTII days

Shabana Azmi shared a throwback photo of hers from her days in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1971. The actress surprised her fans with the black-and-white photo that showed her alongside her friend, whom she identified as one Neelam Mehra. Naturally, Twitterati wanted the actress-turned-human rights activist to reveal where Neelam is today. Is she the one who was in Barrister Vinod? Or in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki? However, Shabana is yet to answer that question. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@AzmiShabana

​Ranveer Singh’s throwback picture is all for Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have taken the broom against India’s cleanliness issue after taking the PM’s office in 2014, but Ranveer Singh’s campaign for ‘safar’ started years ago. In a ‘legit’ throwback picture he shared on his social media account, the younger self of the Ram Leela actor can be seen holding a huge placard that reads, “Vote For Mumbai Safai Sangh’.

While sharing it today, on June 13, he called the #ThrowbackThursday picture ‘legit’

The young Ranveer could effortlessly charming with his chubby cheeks and innocent eyes. He seems to be wearing a shirt with half-pants, but the blue navy cap takes away our hearts. Too cool to campaign! Source: Instagram/ranveersingh

Sanjay Dutt shares an old picture with dad Sunil Dutt on his birth anniversary

Sanjay Dutt lived an interesting life and now, it is made into a movie starring Ranbir Kapoor as Dutt. While the makers today released a poster of Manisha Koirala, who is playing Nargis in the film, on Sunil Dutt’s birth anniversary, Sanjay shared an old picture with his dad on social media.

If you want to drive away your Monday blues, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s social media post is the ultimate destination.

The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil actress has shared childhood pictures on her Instagram account. Aishwarya has shared a picture with her classmates and teachers and captioned it, “Grade 1...the same age as Aaradhya.” She has shared another Instagram post from her ‘LKG times’.

Aishwarya's first post was her picture with daughter Aaradhya and she captioned it, “And I was born...again...” Indeed, that was the best way to make a debut. The actress will next seen in Fanne Khan opposite Anil Kapoor.

This is what happened during climax scene of Anand

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan shared an old picture of the team of Anand receiving Filmfare awards. Sr Bachchan tweeted, “47 years of my film ANAND .. and this the 19th Filmfare Awards nite .. Rajesh Khanna best actor Anand ; Asha Parekh for Best actress, RAJ Kapoor Best director for Mera Naam Joker, Karanjia editor of mag , Field Marshal Manekshaw chief guest , AB best supporting for ANAND and Hrishi da 2 awards for best film and best story... those were the days my friend !!!”

But do you know what exactly happened during the shooting of climax when Rajesh Khanna’s character Anand dies and his friend Dr Bhaskar K Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) cries inconsolably? Find out here…

Photo: @mitabhbachchan/instagram

Papa Mahesh Bhatt shares Alia Bhatt's childhood pic

Mahesh Bhatt shares throwback picture of him with Alia Bhatt on her birthday. The loving father called Alia his miracle child. He captioned the image, “Such a BIG miracle in such a LITTLE girl! Happy birthday Alia.”

Photo: @MaheshNBhatt/Twitter

​Here’s how Salman Khan and Sohail looked as kids​

Salman Khan is universal bhai but he is also a very protective elder brother to his siblings. Recently, the superstar shared a throwback picture of him with his younger brother Sohail Khan. He captioned the image, “Bandhu @sohailkhanofficial aur Captaan ka Bhaihood.”

Photo: @beingsalmankhan

​ Look at baby Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Siddhanth Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor undoubtedly is one of the most eligible bachelors of B-Town. But believe us, he had his stunning looks in childhood as well. The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil actor looks adorable with his friends Shraddha Kapoor and Siddhanth Kapoor and Sr Kapoor froze the moment in time. Sometimes back, Rishi Kapoor shared an adorable picture of the three kids.

Anushka Sharma’s throwback picture with her papa

Anushka Sharma made her mark in B-Town with mere talent. The actress recently shared an adorable picture on social media with her favourite man and captioned it, “I couldn't possibly be more like anyone as I am like my father. I wish every girl growing up gets to look up to a man like I got to with my dad. He taught me to stand up for myself and what I believed in and never allow anyone to treat me wrongly. My biggest inspiration comes from him and how wonderful this world would be if there were more men like you papa! I love you to the moon and back #FathersDay.”

Priyanka Chopra shares picture from her modeling days

Internationally acclaimed actress Priyanka Chopra had her share of struggle in Indian entertainment industry. But the actress cherishes the moment that shaped her and polished her skills. PeeCee sometime ago shared a picture with her friends sitting at Marine Drive and captioned it, “It's been years since I've just sat by the ocean at Marine drive.. used to be one of my favourite things to do when I modelled.. I guess In the hustle bustle of life we just don't pause to feel the breeze..the beautiful.”

Photo: @priyankachopra/Instagram

Amitabh Bachchan with his mother Teji Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan shared a throwback picture with her mother Teji Bachchan. The legendary actor captioned the image, “Mothers love when I returned home after my Coolie accident from Breach Candy Hospital.” Indeed, that was Sr Bachchan’s second birth as the accident was fatal.

Photo: @amitabhbachchan/Instagram

For Rati, Dadamoni was someone she could talk to about anything and everything. “He was learned and honest. Given how young and inexperienced I was then, his anecdotes from his life’s journey were like Aesop’s Fables for me,” she asserts.

Rati goes on to recall how during the shooting of a song for Tawaif, she had admitted to him that the 18-hour workdays, 24x7, for months on end, were taking their toll, leaving her drained and susceptible to infections. Dadamoni who had studied homeopathy, immediately prescribed some little white pills which her parents got from a pharmacy in Princess Street. “They worked miracles,” the actress marvels years later.

That wasn’t the end of his lessons. During the shooting of BR Chopra’s social drama, there were times when Rati would get a little anxious because this character with her body language and colourful vocabulary, was very out of character for the young girl. “I would nervously ask Dadamoni how to do a particular scene Chopra uncle had briefed me on. He would tell me reassuringly, ‘Beta, tum jaise kar rahi ho, sahi hai.’ This gave me the confidence to play the role naturally, without trying to force myself to become someone I wasn’t,” she says.

Today, when I look back to our conversations, I realise I got my share of Aesop’s Fables too, between chuckles, which still echo in my ears.

On Wednesday, September 26, Dev Anand would have turned a sprightly 95. But the last birthday he celebrated was in 2011 and since Chargesheet was opening four days later, he didn’t fly off to London as he liked to for the occasion.